The movement of players during the spring transfer portal window won’t just impact other college football players, but high school prospects as well. Rivals national recruiting analyst John Garcia Jr. looks at four recruits that may be impacted by recent portal additions in the ACC.
MORE: Recruits that may be impacted by recent portal additions in the Big Ten | SEC
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2026 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2027 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
TRANSFER PORTAL: Full coverage | Player ranking | Team ranking | Transfer search | Transfer Tracker
A state champion in multiple sports, the Peach State triggerman has been busy this spring on the visit front. At this stage, though, it looks like a battle between Auburn and North Carolina, programs that have both been busy in the portal at the quarterback position.
Advertisement
The Tigers got their work done in the winter window, led by Jackson Arnold, who has considerable eligibility remaining. That has long been factored in for Burgess, we’re sure, but it’s now presenting as a new part of the conversation in Chapel Hill with Gio Lopez picking UNC last weekend.
Does Burgess view the options more similarly now that each has an experienced QB that could be ‘the guy’ for the next couple of years? If that’s the case, this one could still shift back and forth between the Tigers and Tar Heels because the path to playing time is most paramount at the game’s most important position.
There isn’t a program more tuned into its potential future — because of the circumstances — than Stanford. Andrew Luck and company are in total reset mode with the roster and even the coaching staff itself, so the pitch shifts to a long-term play and buy-in more than anything else. Still, through the transitions in front of him, blue-chipper Luke Fahey remains rock steady on the Cardinal as perhaps his top option despite a national offer list.
Advertisement
Sure, Cal, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Indiana and many others are in the mix, but the onus on Stanford may be pushed further the next time he steps back on the in-state campus. Another passer on the roster in Bear Bachmeier hit the portal on Monday, and he was the only prep passer brought in by the program in the 2025 class.
Paired with Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson, who left in the winter, and the program has three quarterbacks on the entire roster as of this writing. That path to the field has to feel a bit more free for Fahey in Palo Alto compared to most all others.
Syracuse has become quite the talking point in college football, both on the field and certainly in both prep and portal recruiting. After naming Rickie Collins the starter at quarterback coming out of spring football, SU brought in Notre Dame transfer passer Steve Angeli for a visit and all indications point to the New Jersey native finishing his career in Central New York like Kyle McCord last year. What does that mean for Collins? Could the entire QB room become in flux overnight?
Advertisement
Lott could be a major part of that equation beyond 2025 should his pledge to the Orange reign true. The former North Carolina commitment made his flip in late March, not long after the program brought in two prep passers in the 2025 class, so he isn’t one to play the numbers game in hopes of playing that much sooner. But with so many QBs on the roster and one with expectations still yet to arrive, it could provide the type of shakeup that makes Lott’s commitment that much more important should it thin out as often is the case in this era with a potential starter and succession relatively clear.
SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS WITH SYRACUSE FANS AT THEJUICE.COM
At this point Jaden O’Neal has to have his head on a swivel with both high school and portal quarterback dominoes. The former has pushed him to consider options like Florida State and Georgia despite an Oklahoma commitment approaching a year in length as the Sooners work on landing Lone Star State All-American Bowe Bentley. On the college front, both the Seminoles and Bulldogs continue to play in the market for a passer after departures to the quarterback room.
Advertisement
On the FSU side, the program was active in the portal in locking down senior Tommy Castellanos from Boston College after the departure of Luke Kromenhoek in the winter. Trever Jackson also hit the portal of late, so the room is thin and projects to remain that way in the near future. Should it push for O’Neal instead of a portal addition where the options are thinning by the day, it could lead to a flip of an OU pledge at the position for the second straight class after Kevin Sperry made the move in the 2025 cycle.
